Banner Saga

 iOS
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 70
  3. Negative: 18 out of 70
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  1. rodericrinehart
    Jun 19, 2015
    7
    Beautiful game, good but depressing story, solid mechanics. I played on PC but saw this port in action. The game needed more diversity of enemy types and the combat got stale. This is no XCOM or Shadowrun, but it is a solid game if you can find it on sale and/or like the genre. I'll at least be checking out the sequel. Seems like a good studio.
  2. drlowdon
    Aug 24, 2018
    6
    Set in a World inspired by Norse mythology The Banner Saga is a story focused RPG in which the player must lead and protect their caravan of people to safety from the dredge, an ancient foe intent on killing everything in their path.

    The game is essentially made up of two parts, the interactive story sections and turn based combat. The interactive story sections, likely due to the    Set in a World inspired by Norse mythology The Banner Saga is a story focused RPG in which the player must lead and protect their caravan of people to safety from the dredge, an ancient foe intent on killing everything in their path.

    The game is essentially made up of two parts, the interactive story sections and turn based combat. The interactive story sections, likely due to the budget restrictions of being funded on Kickstarter, unfortunately don’t have voiceovers which does means reading a lot of text but The Banner Saga is beautifully animated with sound design to match. Decisions made by the player rather than just being simply good or evil, as is the case with many games, are a lot more complex and you’re never quite sure whether or not you’ve made the right decison for your group of travellers.

    The turn based combat however isn’t quite as engaging. There are examples of turn based combat forming the core of a great game, the X-Com series being arguably the best in this regard, but The Banner Saga’s combat isn’t in the same league and quickly becomes quite repetitive. The main issue is that there is no real variety to the “maps” and enemy types you’ll be find yourself fighting and, on normal difficult at least, you can win battles using the same tactics from start to finish.

    Overall I enjoyed The Banner Saga but probably not quite enough that I’ll bother with the sequel, any time soon at least.......    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best iOS Game of 2014
26
#26 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2014
8
#8 Most Shared iOS Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 2, 2014
    80
    A gorgeous, compelling, exciting turn-based strategy game. [Issue#255, p.76]
  2. IGN Italia
    Oct 31, 2014
    88
    This isn't a game for all, but it's a real blast if you like story-driven adventure and powerful atmosphere. Its combat system is not as deep as it should be, but nevertheless it's fully functional to the narration, the real star of this game.
    Read full review
  3. Digitally Downloaded
    Oct 14, 2014
    80
    The Banner Saga asks a lot of its players, especially in the early chapters, but those who stay for the long run will enjoy a mature, character focused story which is both challenging and memorable.
    Read full review
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